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• marsh
  marsh

  noun

  a tract of low wet land, often treeless and periodically inundated, generally characterized by a growth of grasses, sedges, cattails, and rushes.
• Marsh
  Marsh

  noun

  Dame (Edith) Ngaio 1899–1982, New Zealand writer of detective novels.

marsh

¹ American  

[mahrsh] / mɑrʃ /

noun

• marshes
  plural

1. a tract of low wet land, often treeless and periodically inundated, generally characterized by a growth of grasses, sedges, cattails, and rushes.

   Synonyms:

   wetland, marshland, fen, bog, swamp

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Marsh ² American  

[mahrsh] / mɑrʃ /

noun

1. Dame (Edith) Ngaio 1899–1982, New Zealand writer of detective novels.

2. Reginald, 1898–1954, U.S. painter and illustrator.

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marsh ¹ British  

/ mɑːʃ /

noun

1. low poorly drained land that is sometimes flooded and often lies at the edge of lakes, streams, etc Compare swamp

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Marsh ² British  

/ mɑːʃ /

noun

1. Dame ( Edith ) Ngaio (ˈnaɪəʊ). 1899–1981, New Zealand crime writer, living in Britain (from 1928). Her many detective novels include Final Curtain (1947) and Last Ditch (1977)

2. Rodney ( William ). born 1947, Australian cricketer: a wicketkeeper, he took 355 dismissals in 96 test matches (1970–84)

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marsh Scientific  

/ märsh /

1. An area of low-lying wetland in which the level of water is generally shallow and often fluctuating. The water may be either standing or slow-moving. The water in a marsh is also more or less neutral or alkaline, in contrast to the water in a bog, which is acidic. The environment of a marsh is in general well-oxygenated and nutrient-rich and allows a great variety of organisms to flourish. In contrast to a swamp, in which there is an abundance of woody plants, the plants in a marsh are mostly herbaceous. Reeds and rushes dominate the vegetation of marshes.

2. See also salt marsh

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• marshlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• marshes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of marsh

before 900; Middle English mershe, Old English mer ( i ) sc (cognate with German Marsch ). See mere ², -ish ¹; cf. marais, marish, morass

Explanation

A marsh is an area in transition from land to water. It is a very bad idea to go walking in a marsh in your best shoes; try some fishing boots, or perhaps a boat. The word marsh comes from the old Dutch word mere, for sea, and it means land that is sea-ish… not sea, but sea-ish, like most of Holland. Marshes can be found often where a river empties into the sea, or along the side of a low, flooded river. Another word for marsh is swamp. If you’re in trouble or just want to be alone, a marsh is a great place to hide: no one will follow you. Just don’t forget your galoshes.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

marsh Marsh marshes

Joel Weintraub, 84, said credit for the discovery of the bird goes to marsh visitor Charles Baker, who spotted it Aug. 13 and posted a photo of the bird on EBird, a free online database.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

“The secondary benefit of having this beautiful marsh is this fantastic wildlife,” Swift said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

The number and variety of plants increased over time, including locally rare species such as southern marsh orchid, greater tussock-sedge, yellow rattle and common centaury.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

Environmentalists say the wall will accelerate erosion elsewhere while starving the neighboring salt marsh of sediment, hurting wildlife.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

I focused that same way I did when I escaped the haint in the marsh.

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce

“The San Joaquin Marsh here is, you know, for the most part pretty quiet during the week,” Swift said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

Their largest concentration in California is in the Suisun Marsh, just south of Vacaville.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Tongue removed both Marsh and Crawley before he combined with Sonny Baker to tear through the middle order, the latter finishing with 2-39, while Sunrisers opener Ryan Rickelton was left stranded on 54 not out.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

That could mean $3 million to $10 million in insurance costs for a single large tanker to transit, Marsh said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Marsh Dad said, “This is really nice of you, Mrs. Costello.”

From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson

North American river otters live in rivers, lakes, streams, marshes and on seacoasts, according to the conservation group River Otter Ecology Project.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

This giant salamander lived in the broad freshwater lakes and marshes that covered parts of Kyushu several million years ago.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026

"It is possible to create salt marshes and restore some of the marsh we've lost but it probably won't be possible to do this at the scale."

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

Dick Dale is a New York landscape painter who boards at the Owen family farm in the salt marshes of northeastern Massachusetts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026

“Ay!” returned the sergeant, “two. They’re pretty well known to be out on the marshes still, and they won’t try to get clear of ’em before dusk.

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens